German Pre-Dreadnought Battleship SMS Hannover

SMS Hannover was one of the five Deutschland-class pre-dreadnought battleships (along with her sisters Deutschland, Pommern, Schlesien, and Schleswig-Holstein) built for the Imperial German Navy in the early 20th century. Laid down at the Kaiserliche Werft in Wilhelmshaven in 1904, she was launched in 1905 and commissioned into service in 1907. By the time she entered the fleet, however, naval warfare had been revolutionised by the appearance of HMS Dreadnought (1906), which rendered all existing battleships, including Hannover, effectively obsolete.

Despite this, Hannover and her sisters remained important elements of the High Seas Fleet, providing strength in numbers and a role in coastal defence and second-line operations. During the early stages of the First World War she took part in patrols in the North Sea, and support operations for raids against the British coast.

Hannover participated in the Battle of Jutland (31 May – 1 June 1916), where she formed part of the German battle line. As the fleet deployed, she and the other pre-dreadnoughts were positioned at the rear, as their slower speed and weaker armour left them at a disadvantage. Hannover she was not heavily engaged during the battle, nor was she damaged by enemy fire (although hit by fragments of a 13.5-inch shell fired by HMS Princess Royal). Her limited speed meant she was unable to keep pace with the faster dreadnoughts, and after Jutland the German Navy increasingly withdrew its pre-dreadnoughts from front-line service due to their vulnerability.

Hannover was relegated to a guard ship first in the Elbe and, starting in 1917, in the Danish straits. With Germany’s defeat in 1918 and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, Hannover was one of the few battleships Germany was allowed to retain for coastal defence purposes. She remained in the post-war Reichsmarine, serving until 1931. Plans to turn her into a radio-controlled target ship did not materialise and she was instead used in explosives tests. Hannover was finally scrapped between 1944 and 1946.

Specifications of SMS Hannover

• Class: Deutschland-class pre-dreadnought battleship
• Builder: Kaiserliche Werft, Wilhelmshaven
• Laid down: 7 November 1904
• Launched: 29 May 1905
• Commissioned: 1 October 1907
• Displacement: 13,191 tonnes (full load)
• Length: 127.6 m (418 ft 8 in)
• Beam: 22.2 m (72 ft 10 in)
• Draught: 8.21 m (26 ft 11 in)
• Propulsion: 3-shaft triple-expansion steam engines, 12 coal-fired boilers
• Power: 17,000 ihp
• Speed: 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
• Range: ~4,800 nautical miles at 10 knots
• Complement: 35 officers and 708 men

Armament:

• 4 × 28 cm (11 in) SK L/40 guns (2 twin turrets, fore and aft)
• 14 × 17 cm (6.7 in) SK L/40 guns (in casemates)
• 20 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/35 guns
• 6 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes (submerged, broadside and stern)

Armour:

• Belt: 240 mm (9.4 in)
• Turrets: 280 mm (11 in)
• Conning tower: 300 mm (11.8 in)
• Deck: 40mm (1.6 in)